Beef farmers should “sell hard” due to the current positive market conditions, according to the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) Livestock Chair.
Brendan Golden said that beef prices have continued “to edge upwards on the back of tight supplies and strong factory demand”.
He noted that base prices are starting at €4.30/kg for steers and €4.35/kg for heifers with another 5c to 10c/kg available for larger and specialist lots.
“R/U grading young bulls are making €4.20/kg to €4.40/kg,” Golden said.
He added that there is particularly strong demand for processing beef as cow prices are making between €3.65/kg to €4.10/kg.
Beef Demand
“Demand for beef in our key export markets – the UK and the EU – is strong, with the prime export benchmark price showing consistent growth since the beginning of the year. It’s now 3c/kg above our price,” Golden explained.
The IFA Livestock Chair said that factories are having to compete for supplies as numbers of slaughter fit cattle are currently tight.
Golden also noted the strong performance of live exports to Northern Ireland, especially for forward store and finished cattle.
So, what is the IFA chair’s advice?
“Farmers should sell hard in these positive market conditions to match the price returns in our main markets,” Golden concluded.
Meanwhile, for the week commencing Monday, January 24, beef cattle throughput figures saw a marginal increase when compared to the previous week and data from the same week last year.
A total of 33,926 head of cattle (including veal) was processed in the third week of January.
This figure is up by almost 1,500 head on the week prior and up by over 2,500 head from the 31,384 head of cattle processed in the same week last year, according to figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
While last week’s throughput may have noticed an increase, the cumulative beef kill to date this year is still over 3,000 head behind the same time frame last year.